A variety of medical diagnostic and treatment procedures require that a patient's skull be fixed in an accurate and reproducible position. One example of such a treatment procedure is radiation therapy, which is used to deliver radiation to a target, such as a tumor. An important step in this therapy is treatment planning. To aid in this planning, stereotactic techniques have been developed, which employ accurate and reproducible positioning of the patient's skull during radiographic studies. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,797,924.
It is also important to immobilize the patient during treatment and radiographic examination in order to assure that radiation is delivered exactly where it is needed and that targets and surrounding normal structures are precisely located. A thermoplastic mask is often used to immobilize the patient's head and ensure reproducibility of the treatment.
According to the present invention, an apparatus is provided that is formed to fix a thermoplastic mask to a patient. The apparatus comprises a member having a teeth-receiving portion formed to be positioned adjacent to a cranio facial bone of the patient, a fixation member coupled to the member, the fixation member including a plate and a fastener, a distinct fastener plate formed for coupling with the fastener to couple the mask to the fixation member so that the member is in a fixed position relative to the mask, and a lower plate member positioned adjacent to the member.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus is provided that is formed to fix a thermoplastic mask to a patient. The apparatus comprises a mouthpiece member, a fixation member coupled to the mouthpiece member, the fixation member including a plate and at least one fastener extending away from the plate, a distinct fastener plate formed for attachment with the at least one fastener so that the mask is coupled between the plate and the fastener plate, and a lower plate member positioned adjacent to the mouthpiece member.
According to another embodiment of the present invention an assembly formed to immobilize a patient's skull during a medical procedure is provided. The assembly comprises a thermoplastic mask, a fixation member including an attachment portion, an extension extending from the attachment portion, and a plate coupled to the extension, the mask being formed to extend across the plate, a mouthpiece member coupled to the attachment portion of the fixation member in order that the mouthpiece member be coupled to the thermoplastic mask, and a lower plate member positioned adjacent to the mouthpiece member.
These and other features of the present invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description of the invention taken together with the accompanying claims. It is noted that the scope of the claims is defined by the recitations therein and not by the specific discussion of the features set forth in the present description.